Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Buys 2,400 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 396.1% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 67,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 3,501 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 158,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,927,000 after acquiring an additional 54,292 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Compass Point lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $53.42 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $20.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.14.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.